Round Up of the Year Contest

We have come up with the results of the "Round Up of the Year" Contest. We were really happy with the response to the contest - more than 80 entries across eight categories. We had such a tough time deciding the winning entries because most of you have written extremely well. Although some have not won, they have been constructed well and are rich in content. Please Note: - All the entries have been edited for grammar, punctuation, readability and length. Winners Monic Abhishek (monicabhishek) January:

3 PM Manmohan Singh inaugurates 99TH Annual session of Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneswar and promises a increased investment in research and development (R&D) sectors. 6 Senior Indian diplomat D.Bala Venkatesh Varma receives inaugural S.K.Singh Award. He is a key member of the team that made a breakthrough in indo-U.S nuclear relationships.

8 PM Manmohan Singh announce the right of franchise to the NRIs who are registered under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and a new pension and life insurance fund for overseas Indian workers during the inaugural function of 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur. 9 Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Mr.Kamla Persad Bissessar receives “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman” award, a highest honour conferred on overseas Indians, from President Pratibha Patil. 10 The central cabinet notifies 100% FDI in single brand retail. Vodafone wins RS.11, 000 crore tax case against IT department in Supreme Court judgment. Court says 20 Vodafone’s acquisition of Hutchison Telecom was “offshore" in character and outside the jurisdiction of Indian authorities. Government announces five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri awards for the year 25 2012. 26 For the first time in Republic Day parades, IAF contingent is led by woman pilot Lt. Sneha Shekhawat.

31 Supreme Court dismisses CBI’s plea for further probe into disproportionate assets of Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha. February:

1 Supreme Court strikes down section 27(3) of arms act calling it as unconstitutional for its provision of mandatory death sentence for accused.

2 Supreme Court cancels all 122 2G telecom licenses allotted on or after January 10, 2008 and suggests a fresh auction. 3 Veteran filmmaker Mike Pandey receives V.Shantaram life time achievement award for his documentaries on wildlife conservation and environmental protection at the international film festival 2012.

10 The Bombay high court confirms death penalty to three accused LeT members in twin blasts in Mumbai on august 25, 2003.

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14 22 writers and poets receive Sahitya Academy Awards for 2011 in New . 19 Kerala police arrests two Italian naval personnel for firing two Indian fishermen to death in the contiguous sea zone off Ambalapuzha in Kerala. 20 Massive forest fire lasting for 4 days creates havoc in Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka. March: 6 Samajwadi Party wins Uttar Pradesh, the Shiromani Akali dal -BJP coalition wins in Punjab and Congress wins Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur state polls. 9 Manohar Parikhar takes oath as chief minister of Goa. 13 Vijay Bahuguna is sworn in as chief minister of Uttarakhand in . 14 Parkash Singh Badal takes oath as CM of Punjab for the record fifth time. Ibobi Singh takes charge as CM of Manipur for the third consecutive time. Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi announces a record Rs.60,100 crore railway budget for 2012-13 and hikes the train fare for the first time in 8years. 15 Akhilesh Yadav takes oath as CM of Uttar Pradesh. 19 Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha gives approval for kudankulam nuclear power plant. 20 Union Minister of state for shipping Mukul Roy takes over as Railway Minister after resignation of Dinesh Trivedi and rolls back the hike in train fare. 23 Union cabinet nods for Marriage Laws Amendment bill, 2010 providing rights for women on husband’s property after divorce. 25 Chief of army general V.K.Singh alleges that he was offered a bribe of Rs.14 core by a lobbyist to buy sub- standard trucks for army. The Lok Sabha passes the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, which provides for setting up a 29 mechanism for investigating complaints of corruption and irregularities against members of the higher judiciary. April: 11 ’s micro-biologists Mohammed Khalil Chisti is freed on bail after Supreme Court’s approval. The Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of the Right of children to free and Compulsory 12 Education Act, 2009. May: Marathi film Deool and Byari gets best film, Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture) receives best actress, Girish 3 Kulkarni (Deool) wins Best Actor award in 59th National Film Awards. Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee honoured with Dada Saheb Phalke Award. 7 Lok Sabha passes The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2012. 31 The Union Cabinet approves National Telecom policy, 2012 and allows Number Portability. June: 4 Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member under President’s quota. 6 Election commissioner V.S.Sampath appointed as Chief Election Commissioner. Page 2 of 27

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14 French diplomat Pascal Mazurier arrested by police over charges og raping his three-and-half year old daughter.

22 Calcutta strikes down the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development act, 2011 calling it as unconstitutional. This judgment is termed as TATA’s win over Mamta Banerjee’s move to recover land allotted to TATA motors. Pranab Mukherjee step downs as Union Finance Minister to contest in presidential polls, PM Manmohan Singh 26 takes over the Finance. July: 1 Floods cause havoc in Assam, 77 dead due to landslips. 3 The union cabinet clears a Rs. 25 crore plan to airlift 350 tons of toxic waste from . 4 CBI registers case against former CM Ashok Chavan and 12 others in Adarsh Housing scam. 6 The Supreme Court strikes down the FIR against former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati in disproportionate assets case. 8 ’s first super star Rajesh Khanna dies. He acted in famous films like Aradhana and Kati Patang. 12 Jagadish Shetter sworn in as new chief minister of Karnataka after Sadananda Gowda resigns to the post. 21 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Calls unprecedented lock in its Manesar plant following killing of a general manager by violent workers.

22 Pranab Mukherjee wins the presidential polls defeating the nearest rival P.A.Sangma by a margin of 3, 97,776 value votes. 24 Assam government calls out for Indian army to check unprecedented violence in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dubri districts. Assam police issues shoot at sight orders in Kokhrajar. 31 21 states and nearly 60 crore people pushed to darkness as three power grid collapses due to excess demand. August: 11 Hamid Ansari sworn in as Vice-President for the second term. 17 CAG Reports a estimated loss of Rs.1.86 crore loss to the revenue due to coal mine allocations, a biggest scam in the history of India. 31 Admiral Devender Kumar Joshi takes charge as Chief of the Navy Staff. September:

3 The Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment Bill, 2010 and bill prohibiting manual scavenging passed in Lok Sabha. th 9 ISRO’s completes 100 mission successfully with launch of PSLV and two foreign satellites from Srihari Kota launching station. 29 Altamas Kabir sworn in the 39th Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. October: 5 The Supreme Court stays all mining operations in Goa for breaching environmental and auction laws. PM Manmohan Singh pledges USD 50 million for biodiversity conservation at the closing ceremony of 11th 16 Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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Salman Khurshid takes charge as External Affairs Minister, Pawan Kumar Bamsal as Railway Minister and Jaipal 28 Reddy moved to Science & Technology. November:

1 Team of coast guards rescue 15 crew members of MT Prathiba Cauvery after hit by cyclone Nilam on coast. Andhra Pradesh high court lifts the life time ban of BCCI on former cricket Captain Mohammed Azharuddin 8 alleged for match-fixing. 11 The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party withdraws its support to UPA at centre and to congress at state level in Andhra Pradesh. rd 14 Myanmar opposition leader Aung Aan Suu Kyi delivers Nehru Memorial Lecture on 123 birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, in . The Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 comes into force after being passed by Lok Sabha in May 2012. 17 Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray dies of cardiac arrest at his residence in Mumbai. 19 Two women held by police briefly over a facebook post condemning the bandh that followed Mumbai after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray demise.

21 Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks hanged in ’s yerwada jail in extreme secrecy. Luiz Inacioi Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil is presented with The Indira Ghandi peace prize for 22 peace, disarmament and development, 201o at Raj Bhavan.

24 Social activist announces the name of their political party as “Aam Admi Party” and adopts party constitution in New Delhi. 29 Cauvery river water issue consensus talk fails between chief ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Former Prime Minister I.K.Gujral dies of multi-organ failure in Gurgaon. He served as the 12th Prime Minister 30 of India from April 1997 to March 1998. December: Andhra Pradesh assembly passes the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe sub plan Planning, 2 Allocation and Utilization of Financial Resources Bill, 2012 making it the first state in the country to have such legislation aimed at SC/ST development. 5 The UPA government wins the opposition motion on FDI in retail as BSP and SP stage a walkout. 7 UPA wins vote on FDI in retail IN Rajya Sabha with BSP voting against UPA and SP staging a walkout. 13 Bill aiming at providing reservation for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe in government job promotions is introduced in Rajya Sabha. 14 India –Pakistan operationalise the new visa agreement signed in early September. 16 A 23-year old girl gang raped and brutally assaulted in a bus in New Delhi, admitted in Safdarjung Hospital. 17 Rajya Sabha passes the 117th constitutional Amendment Bill for providing reservations to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe in government job promotions. 18 Lok Sabha passes, the Companies Bill, 2011, and the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011.

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20 BJP wins Gujarat polls for the third time in a row by winning 115 of 182 seats. Congress comes back to power in Himachal Pradesh winning 36 of 68 assembly seats. 25 Virbhadra Singh takes oath as CM of Himachal Pradesh. 26 Narendra Modi sworn in as CM of Gujarat. 29 The gang rape victim dies in Singapore. 31 Cyrus Mistry takes over as Tata Group Chairman.

WORLD Monic Abhishek (monicabhishek) January: 2 Obama’s administration pronounces a bill aimed at providing military aid to Pakistan amidst much media speculation in Pakistan. 3 Taliban’s agree setting up a political office overseas to continue diplomatic talks with USA. 13 USA wins support from Japan over laying oil sanctions on Iran over its conspired nuclear programs. George Clooney bags best actor award for his role in the descendants and Meryl Streep bags best actress 15 award for role in the iron lady at the 69th golden globe awards in Los Angles. The United Nation Security Council takes for discussion the European-Arab draft resolution to solve the 31 ongoing Syria crisis. February:

6 Prime Minister David Cameron re-affirms Britain’s decision to continue its aid programme to India, amidst some ruling Conservative MPs objection that India doesn’t need it. 10 At least 25 persons are killed and 175 injured as two huge car bombings rock Aleppo, Syria. India’s Nobel laureate Amartya Sen selected for the 2011 US National Humanities Medal for his contributions 12 in economics. 26 “The artist” wins bags five academy awards. Christopher Plummer wins Oscar for best supporting actor, the oldest winner in that role.

27 NATO decides to withdraw its security personnel deployed at Afghan Ministries following killing of two US officers in Kabul. March:

2 India-china decides to increase maritime cooperation after the talks between the External Affairs Minister S. M Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in New Delhi. The UN Special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan arrives at the Qatar Capital Doha to hold peace talks with Syrian 12 President Bashar Al Assad in Damascus. Iran offers to hold talks with permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany over its disputed 15 nuclear programme. 26 Second Nuclear Security Summit begins in South Korean capital Seoul, reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism to dominate the agenda at the two-day summit. Page 5 of 27

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29 Arab leaders urge for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis at a landmark summit in Bagdad. April: 5 Buford, Wyoming billed as the smallest town in America is sold for $ 900,000 to a Vietnamese national at an auction. 10 China’s communist party suspends politburo member Bo Xilai in the aftermath of a political scandal. 11 Massive earth quakes strike the North Indian Ocean off Indonesia and triggers tsunami warnings. Many states of India felt the tremors. 16 Korean born American health expert Jim Yong Kim is elected as new president to World Bank. May: 3 India and Japan agrees to enhance cooperation in the field of infrastructural development. 5 Japan closes its last operating nuclear power reactor at the Hokkaido electric power station. 12 New Delhi decides to exit the oil block no 128 in South China Sea. Analysts expect this move could calm frayed diplomatic nerves between India and China. 14 Buddhist peace monk the Dalai Lama is awarded the $1.1mn Templeton prize at a ceremony in London. 19 Leaders of the G-8 countries meet at Camp David in the United States to discuss the debt crisis in Europe and world food security. 22 NATO Summit begins in Chicago to decide exit strategy for international forces and future course of action in Afghanistan. June: 2 The British Queen’s diamond jubilee celebration gets off to a start with ceremonial gun salutes in London. Wiki leaks founder Julian Assange loses legal battle against Sweden after the British Supreme Court dismisses 14 appeal to reopen the case.

25 Bangladesh decides to confer the Friends of Bangladesh Awards on retired Indian army officer Colonel Ashok Tara for his role during the 1971 war.

28 UNESCO’s world heritage committee votes to include the church of the nativity in Bethlehem on its list of world heritage in danger. July:

1 The Western Ghats of India are included in the World Heritage list at a meeting of World Heritage Committee in Russia’s St.Petersburg. Kulandi Francis of Tamil Nadu known for pioneering community initiatives is among this year’s six winners of 25 Ramon Magsaysay Award. 27 Global audience witness Danny Boyle’s breath taking performance after Queen Elizabeth II declares open the London Olympics 2012. 31 Venezuela becomes the member of South America’s biggest trade bloc Mercosur. USA and Pakistan ink agreement on NATO troops supply through Afghanistan till 2015 to maintain peace and political stability in Pakistan.

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August: 16 Ecuador grants wiki leaks founder Julian Assange political asylum against extradition to Sweden. 17 India to cut import duties on 234 items from Pakistan as per South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). 20 Myanmar abolished censorship of the country's media and lifts restrictions on 30000 internet sites allowing users unrestricted access to political content for the first. Censorship on media was in force in Myanmar from 6 August 1964.

22 Russia formally becomes the member of World Trade Organization (WTO) after 18 years of negotiation on its trade rules with members of already WTO. 25 Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon dies of cardiovascular complications at the age of 82 years.

28 The government of India approves a complete ban on employment of children by amending The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

29 International atomic energy agency set up special task force for Iran to handle inspections and other issues related to the Iran's disputed nuclear programme. 31 The two day 16th non-aligned movement summit concludes in Tehran, Iran. Main discussion was to create Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance. September:

6 Smita Shah becomes the first person from Indian-American origin to serve as a parliamentarian for Democratic National Convention. Worldwide protests against the film “innocence of Muslims” become violent. The protests in Libya claimed the 7 life of US ambassador Chris Stevens. The protests took to streets in almost all the Arabian and pro-Islamic countries. 9 Verghese Kurien, who revolutionized milk production in India dies at 90. The United States and Japan announced an agreement to set up second advanced missile defence radar on 17 Japanese province. It is an effort which is distinctively designed to counter the ballistic missile threat from North Korea.

19 Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is presented with the congressional gold medal at a function in Washington, USA. October: 2 Police arrest over 235 people in three Bangladesh districts over last week’s religious violence in which agitated mobs attacked Buddhist temples, monasteries and homes following an alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. 6 Pakistani authorities have blocked about 20,000 websites, including YouTube, for hosting “objectionable” material like footage from the anti-Islam movie “Innocence of Muslim” The United States has agreed to allow South Korea to possess longer-range missiles that could strike all of 7 North Korea. 9 Malala Yousafzai, the 14 year old peace activist for girl child education in Pakistan is shot at and seriously injured by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a terrorist group while returning from school in Mingora. 11 U.N’s first International Day of Girl Child is observed worldwide. 15 The British and Scottish government signs a historic deal allowing Scotland to hold an independent referendum. Page 7 of 27

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16 Hillary Mantel wins Man Booker Prize -2012 for her novel “Bring Up The Bodies”, thus becomes the first women to win Booker Prize twice. 21 Kateri Tekakwitha becomes the first indo-American to be conferred sainthood. 28 Savita Halappanar, a young dentist of Indian origin dies of septicaemia after doctors University Hospital at Galway in Dublin, Ireland refuses to perform abortion citing the strict anti-abortion law. 30 New York affected the most as hurricane Sandy makes landfall in New Jersey. Emergencies declared in six states. November: 6 An impeachment motion is lodged in parliament against the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The United Kingdom lifts its twenty years old travel advisory for its nationals against travel to Srinagar, Jammu and Ladakh, referring improvements of the security situation in the State. 7 Barack Obama wins the second term as president of United States of America. 10 World observes “Global Action Day for Malala Yousufzai”. Pakistan government launches a program to educate three million children, especially girls.

15 Bangladesh opts out of the key D-8 Summit in Pakistan, which is scheduled to be held last week of November, 2012 as Pakistan refuses to apologise for the deeds committed during 1971 war which eventually led to Bangladesh’s independence. The 21st ASEAN Summit starts at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The summit set to discuss crucial 18 issues for the progress of the Implementation of ASEAN Charter and Roadmap for an ASEAN community.

20 India voted against a UN resolution aimed at abolishing death penalty. 39 member countries voted against the resolution, whereas 110 voted in favour. 21 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab hanged at Yerwada Jail, Pune in extreme secrecy.

December: 3 India – Pakistan sits to resolve Sir Creek dispute, the meeting was held between former diplomats, peace activists, army and navy of both countries. 4 Typhoon Bopha leaves over 600 dead in Philippines. Jacintha Saldanha, an Indian –origin nurse of King Edward VII hospital in London commits suicide after prank 7 call by two Australian DJs led to revelation of medical details of Duchess of Cambridge Kate William. 8 The UN meet on climate change in Doha passes a package of pacts to extend the life of Kyoto Protocol. The Comptroller and Audit General of India Mr.Vinod Rai is elected as Chairman of UN panel of external 13 Auditors.

14 The Global Telecom Treaty was signed, without internet regulation resolution as US and other countries were against the internet regulation as it curbs the freedom of expression on online platform. 24 The final “Newsweek magazine “hits the newsstands with an iconic hash tag as a symbol of its twitter-era to an all-digital format.

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SPORTS Giridhar Venkatesan (gireedhaar) January: 8 Milos Raonic of Canada wins the singles title of the Chennai Open ATP championship. The pair of Leander Paes of India and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia wins the doubles title of the Chennai Open ATP championship.

9 24 year old Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi won the 2011 Ballon d’Or trophy. He is winning this trophy for the third consecutive time in the history of football. 23 Rajasthan wins the defeating Tamil Nadu in the final in Chennai. 27 Pankaj Advani wins the men’s title of the Senior National billiards championship in Pune. 28 Chitra Magimairaj wins the women’s title of the Senior National snooker championship in Pune. Host Australia drubs India 4-0 in the four-match Test Series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The duo of Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek clinch the doubles title of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne. Victoria Azarenka wins the women’s singles title of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Jan. 29: Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins the singles title of the Australian Open in Melbourne. 29 Amalraj wins the men’s singles title at the National table tennis championship in . February:

3 The English FA axes John Terry as England’s captain after he had allegedly racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in an English Premier League match. 4 PSPB’s Aditya Mehta retains his National snooker title in Pune. 5 Egypt defeats India 2-1 in the final of the SDAT-WSF U-21 World Cup squash in Chennai. Pakistan clean sweeps England 3-0 in the bilateral test series in Dubai. 6 Argentina retains the women’s FIH Champions Trophy in Rosario, Argentina. Italian Fabio Capello resigns as England’s manager in the aftermath of John Terry’s sacking as the team’s 9 captain. Saketh Myneni and Rushmi Chakravarthi win the National championship in men’s and women’s tennis, 11 respectively. Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva betters her own world record by scaling the height of 5.01 metres in 24 Stockholm.

28 The Indian hockey team qualifies for the London Olympics after defeating France 8-1 in the Olympic Qualifiers held at New Delhi. March: 4 Indian women’s team wins the first Kabaddi world cup title, defeating Iran in the final. 9 Rahul Dravid, the wall announces his retirement from international test cricket.

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11 China’s Lin Dan wins his fifth All England Open badminton championship. Li Xuerui wins the women’s title in Birmingham.

16 Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first cricketer to score 100 international centuries after his ton against Bangladesh in Asia Cup in Dhaka. 18 Saina Nehwal wins the Swiss Open, defeating China’s Wang Shixian in the final. 20 Lionel Messi becomes Barcelona’s all-time top scorer with 224 goals after scoring a hat-trick against Granada. 22 Pakistan wins the Asia Cup cricket tournament after defeating Bangladesh in the final. April:

2 Sher-E-Punjab wins the inaugural World Series Hockey tournament, beating Pune Strykers in the final held in Mumbai. K. Srinivas and M. Parimala win the men’s and women’s titles at the Federation Cup Carrom championship in 5 Faridabad. 7 India loses to host Uzbekistan in the Asia Oceania Group I Davis Cup group I second round tie in Namangan. 24 R. Umadevi claims her maiden world ladies billiards & snooker Association title in England. Soniya Chanu wins a bronze in the women’s 48 kg event at the Asian weightlifting championships in Yangon. 26 Sachin Tendulkar is nominated to the Rajya Sabha. 29 Aditya Mehta beats Pankaj Advani to claim the Asian snooker championship in Doha. May: 3 Real Madrid wins its first La Liga title in four years. 6 Indian women’s squash team creates history by winning its maiden Asian title in Kuwait. 8 Ronnie O’Sullivan wins his fourth world snooker title at Sheffield. 13 Manchester City wins the English Premier League title. 20 Chelsea wins its first UEFA Champions League title in Munich. 27 Kolkata Knight Riders wins the T20 tournament in Chennai. China wins the Thomas Cup after defeating South Korea in the final at Wuhan, China.

30 Chess legend Viswanathan Anand defeats Israel’s Boris Gelfand in Moscow to retain his world title. Switzerland’s Roger Federer wins his 234th Grand Slam match to break Jimmy Connors’ long-standing record. June: 7 and Mahesh Bhupathi win the mixed doubles French Open crown. 9 Maria Sharapova wins the French Open women’s singles title. 10 Saina Nehwal triumphs at the Thailand Open. 11 Rafael Nadal wins the French Open men’s title defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. 17 Saina Nehwal wins her third Indonesia Open title. Webb Simpson of the United States wins US Open golf. 22 Indian women win the Kabaddi gold medal at the Asian Beach Games, at Haiyang, China. Page 10 of 27

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Koneru Humpy declared joint winner of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix chess at Kazan, Russia. July: 1 Spain defeats Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev to retain its title. 7 Serena Williams overcomes Agnieszka Radwanska to lift the women’s singles title at Wimbledon. 8 Roger Federer beats Andy Murray to win the men’s singles trophy at Wimbledon. 10 South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher announces his retirement after a suffering a serious eye injury. 13 Australian paceman Brett Lee announces his retirement from international cricket. 22 Cyclist Bradley Wiggins becomes the first Briton to win the Tour de France. 27 The 2012 Olympic Games in London begins. 30 Indian shooter Gagan Narang wins the bronze medal in Men’s 10m air rifle shooting at the London Olympics. 31 Michael Phelps beats Larisa Latynina’s record of 18 Olympic medals with a gold in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. August: 3 Vijay Kumar wins silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol event at the London Olympics.

4 Saina Nehwal wins the Badminton singles bronze medal at the London Olympics after China’s Wang Xin retires with an injury. US swimmer Micheal Phelps wraps up his glittering Olympic career with a last Gold medal at the 4 x 100m medley relay. He takes his Olympic tally to 18 Gold and 22 medals in all. Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce defends her Olympic 100m title. Serena Williams becomes only the second woman to complete a career golden slam after beating Maria Sharapova to win the Olympic tennis singles gold. India clinches the one-day series against Sri Lanka 4-1 at Pallekele. 5 Usain Bolt wins the Olympic men’s 100 metres title. Andy Murray wins the men’s singles gold at Olympics after defeating Roger Federer. 8 M.C. Mary Kom wins bronze in the 51kg flyweight category at the London Olympics. 10 Usain Bolt wins the Olympic men’s 200 metres title. 11 Yogeshwar Dutt clinches India’s fifth medal with a bronze in men’s 60 kg freestyle wrestling at the London Olympics. India finishes bottom in the men’s hockey competition at the Olympics.

12 Sushil Kumar wins silver in the 66 kg freestyle wrestling to become the first Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals at the London Olympics. The Olympic Games conclude in London. Northern Ireland golfer Rory Mcllroy wins the PGA championship. 18 V.V.S. Laxman retires from international test cricket. 20 South Africa becomes the top ranked test team after beating England in the third test at Lord’s and winning the series 2-0. 26 India clinches its third u-19 cricket world cup after defeating Australia in the final at Australia. 29 Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt were awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

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Kim Clijsters retires from tennis after being defeated by Laura Robson in the second round of US Open. 30 Andres Iniesta wins the UEFA Best Player in Europe award. September: 2 India defeats Cameroon on penalties to retain the Nehru Cup title in New Delhi. 3 Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda wins India’s only medal at the Paralympic Games by bagging the silver in men’s high jump F42 in London. India defeats New Zealand at Bangalore to clinch the two-match home test series 2-0. 7 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan win a record-equalling 12th grand slam title in men’s doubles at the US Open. 9 Sevrena Williams defeats Belarus’ Viktoria Azarenka in the final to lift the US Open women’s title. Andy Murray beats Novak Djokovic in the US Open men’s singles final to become the first British male player 10 to win a slam in 76 years. 11 New Zealand defeats India by one run in Chennai to win the T20 series 1-0. 16 India sweeps New Zealand 5-0 in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group ‘I’ relegation play-off in .

21 New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum sets the record for the highest individual score in T20 international matches against Bangladesh at the World T20 in Pallekele.

30 East Bengal wins Federation Cup football tournament by beating Dempo SC 3-2 in the final at Siliguri. Europe retains golf’s Ryder Cup. October:

2 German footballer Michael Ballack announces retirement. Punjab crowned the Senior National champion in Bangalore. P. Kashyap and Sayali Gokhale crowned the National men’s and women’s Badminton champions respectively 3 in Srinagar. 4 Michael Schumacher announces his decision to retire at the end of the 2012 season. 7 West Indies wins the ICC World T20 beating Sri Lanka in the final at Colombo. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Prerna Bhambri crowned National men’s and women’s tennis champions in New 13 Delhi. Shamim Khan wins the BILT Open golf championship in New Delhi. 14 Gaganjeet Bhullar wins Macau Open golf tournament. 21 Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant wins Hero Indian Open golf tournament in Bangalore. Saina Nehwal wins the Denmark Super Series title. 22 Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France by the International Cycling Union (UCI). 25 The BCCI confers the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunil Gavaskar. 28 Rupesh Shah wins the world billiards title (point frame) beating Australia’s Matthew Bolton in the final at Leeds. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix.

29 Barcelona’s Lionel Messi awarded the European Golden Boot award. Sydney Sixers won the Champions League T-20 held in South Africa. 31 Indian women cricket team wins the inaugural Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in Guangzhou, China. Page 12 of 27

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November: 4 Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna won the Paris Masters. The Czech Republic retains Fed Cup.

6 Roger Federer beats Janko Tipsarevic in London to achieve a record 40 match wins in the ATP tour finals. Sachin Tendulkar is conferred the Order of Australia Honour in an official ceremony in Mumbai. 18 Czech Republic wins the final of the Davis Cup 3-2. 25 Sebastian Vettel becomes Formula One’s youngest triple world champion. December:

3 South Africa retains the number one ranking in tests after defeating Australia 1-0 in a three-match series. Former Australian cricket captain and legendary batsman Ricky Ponting retires from international cricket. The International Olympic Committee suspends the Indian Olympic Association. 5 Chelsea becomes the first defending champion to exit the UEFA Champions League in the group stage. 17 England beats India 2-1 in a four-match Test series. 23 Sachin Tendulkar announces his retirement from ODI cricket. P. Kashyap wins the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton championship in Lucknow. 28 India beats Pakistan in the second T20 international at , to square the series 1-1.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Giridhar Venkatesan (gireedhaar) January: 7 Scientists have created the smallest wires ever developed by using silicon. 9 Six researchers from five science streams are honoured with the Infosys Prize-2011 at a function in Bangalore. 11 Tata Technologies unveils the prototype of $20,000 eMO electric car at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. 12 Scientists report the discovery of two more circumbinary planets — Kepler 34 b, Kepler 35 b. 23 Scientists from Imperial College, London and Singapore have developed a T-rays scanner (Terahertz) to spot illnesses.

24 Scientists at the Advanced Cell Technology in Marlborough, USA have used embryonic stem cells to help the blind see. Scientists have found a new device which can be kept under the tongue to stop snoring. The device is called the Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation System. February:

2 A crab like robot has been developed by Singapore scientists to remove cancer.

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Scientists at the Sandia National Laboratory had developed a miniature guidance system that can help direct a bullet itself like a guided missile. 5 Researchers at Exeter University, Britain revealed that they had found proof of communication among plants. 8 China has released a set of world’s highest resolution lunar images taken by its second moon orbiter, Chang’e- 2. World’s first biological computer was created at the Scripps research institute, USA. 15 Iran unveils its first domestically produced, 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor. 17 Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, USA developed a special glue inspired by the feet of Gecko. 20 A black hole that survived galaxy destruction has been discovered. A team of scientists in Australia announced that they had made the first working transistor made from a single atom.

22 Researchers have found a flaw in experiment setup that led to the claim that neutrinos travelled 60 nano seconds faster-than-light.

23 Scientists at a British company have developed a vest that can make heart attack alerts. Researchers at Newcastle University have found a new source of power – a type of space bacteria in a river. March: 2 World’s oceans rapidly turning acidic, quotes leading environmental scientists. 8 Mega solar storm hits the Earth but it was not that disruptive. April:

12 Scientists have come up with a new instrument MOSFIRE (Multi-object Spectrometer for infra-red exploration) to study the earliest galaxies. 15 Researchers of Delft University have succeeded in detecting a Majorana particle. Nuclear-capable Agni-V is successfully test launched from a rail mobile launcher from the Wheeler Island off 19 the Odisha coast propelling India into elite ICBM club. India’s first indigenously built all-weather Radar Imaging Satellite, RISAT-1 is injected into orbit by the PSLV C- 26 19 after lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Australian scientists have designed a tiny crystal, made of just 300 atoms which is capable of running a quantum computer. Chikyu, a Japanese deep-sea drilling probe, sets a world record for depth, reaching 25,400 feet below the sea 29 surface. May: 9 Scientists at Cornell University had come up with a new type of mosquito repellant clothes. 13 Scientists at Berkley National Laboratory have developed a paper thin generator that harnesses the mechanical energy of one’s footsteps. 22 U.S.company SpaceX becomes the first commercial outfit to launch its own craft towards the ISS. 23 Russia has successfully developed and test-fired a new inter-continental ballistic missile capable of piercing defence systems being developed by the US. Page 14 of 27

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European scientists have developed a robotic fish to improve pollution monitoring in seas and oceans. 24 Prototype aircraft Solar Impulse takes to the skies on its first intercontinental flight, travelling from Switzerland to Morocco. 25 California-based SpaceX becomes the first commercial outfit to dock its own cargo capsule at the ISS. 29 An American designer unveils a lamp which is powered by human blood. 31 Space X Dragon capsule, the world’s first commercial space cargo carrier returns to Earth ending the voyage to ISS with a splashdown in the Pacific 800 km off Mexico’s Baja California. June: 1 Two Akash missiles are test-fired in quick succession at Chandipur, Odisha. 5 Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard completes the world’s first inter-continental flight in Solar Impulse, a giant solar-powered plane and lands in Rabat, Morocco after a 19-hour voyage. 6 Planet Venus transits the Sun, the last such celestial event of this century. 12 Elinor Ostrom (78), the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Economics dies of cancer at the Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital. Israeli scientist Daniel Hillel is selected for the 2012 World Food Prize.

16 China sends its first woman Liu Yang into space aboard the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in north-western Gansu province. July: Scientists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Meyrin, Geneva, announce the discovery of a 4 new subatomic particle “consistent” with the long sought Higgs boson. 11 Scientists have developed a high-tech tool capable of converting sign language into speech. Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, along with two colleagues, takes off for a second space odyssey on 15 a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 17 ISRO announces that the ASTROSAT – India’s first satellite dedicated to Astronomy will be launched in 2013. 22 Using cells from rat hearts and a seer polymer film, scientists create an artificial jellyfish. 29 India’s supersonic BrahMos cruise missile is successfully test-fired from a ground missile launcher at Balasore, Odisha. August: 2 Scientists of Canada have engineered artificial skin by mixing bio-materials. 3 The Union cabinet clears the ISRO’s mission to Mars in 2013. 6 Curiosity, the NASA’s $2.5 billion nuclear-powered robot lands on Mars and beams first image. 7 Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science announced that they had come up with a battery that can be folded. A 3D printing technology which could be used to build a house under 24 hours is developed by scientists in the 12 US.

13 Walt Disney Imagineering R&D, USA had successfully developed synthetic skin for robotic clones of humans.

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Scientists have developed a technique by using a bacteria eating virus to power cell phones. 21 Scientists in the US have developed a foldable, two seater plane which can cruise on land, sea and even snow. China reveals its plan to launch several space projects that includes a hard x-ray telescope for black-hole 22 studies. The first recorded human voice that travelled from Earth to Mars and then back to Earth is released at NASA’s 27 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 28 China had test-fired a new generation inter-continental ballistic missile. September:

4 British firm BAE Systems unveils a futuristic helmet for fighter pilots, which can allow them to see through aircraft walls.

6 Sunita Williams sets the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a woman astronaut with her sixth spacewalk. 7 Scientists of South Korea have developed glasses that allow deaf person to see when a loud sound is being made and it also shows the source where the sound came from.

9 ISRO’s 100th mission, a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasts off from Sriharikota and places in orbit two foreign satellites. Astronomers of Canada have discovered a new star that has a magnetic field 20,000 times stronger and a mass 16 35 times that of the sun. Space shuttle Endeavour leaves its Florida home port heading to the California Science Centre in Los Angeles 19 to begin a new mission as a museum exhibit. The Agni-IV is successfully testfired from the Odisha coast for its full range of 4,000 km. A “speech jammer’’ created by two Japanese researchers wins the 2012 Ig Noble Acoustics Prize. 20 Researchers of USA have come up with the first comprehensive map of the human brain.

21 The Agni-III missile, which has a strike range of over 3,000 km is testfired from the wheeler island off the Odisha coast.

23 Scientists at Netherlands announce the development of an advanced virtual model of the human foot. It is referred as the “Glasgow/Maastricht Foot Model”. 25 China unveils its first aircraft carrier, the 300 metre-long Liaoning in the port city of Dalian. 28 NASA’s Curiosity rover finds geological evidence of water in Mars, which once ran across the planet. GSAT-10, India’s 3.4-tonne spacecraft is launched from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana in South 29 America. October:

3 Researchers at the Michigan state University, USA announce the discovery of a bacteria that has the ability to withstand incredible amounts of toxicity and can be the key in creating 24- carat gold.

4 The surface to surface nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile is successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test range in Chandipur, Odisha.

5 Australia unveils the Colossal SKA Pathfinder radio telescope at the remote Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the western Australian desert. Page 16 of 27

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The nuclear capable Dhanush missile is successfully flight tested for its full range of 350km from the coast of Odisha.

7 NASA’s Swift satellite finds evidence of the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole in our Milky Way galaxy. Briton John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan are awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the 8 discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryonic stem cells. Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland are awarded the 2012 Physics Nobel Prize for 9 inventing methods to observe the bizarre properties of the quantum world. American Scientist Josh Bechtel has come up with a new concept of “double unicycles”, which will allow commuters to ride says to beat traffic congestion. Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka are awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for having mapped 10 how a family of receptors called G-protein-coupled receptors work.

13 The 77,000 kg space shuttle Endeavour begins final mission to the California Science Center to be the central piece of a new exhibit.

15 American scholars Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd Shapley are awarded the Nobel Economics prize for their ‘match- making’ theory. 18 The Central Government clears proposals worth Rs. 8,000 crore for procuring 10,000 invar missiles from Russia for the army’s T-90 tanks and over 200 air-launched versions of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

19 Engineers at Air Fuel Synthesis, a British company announce that they have developed a way to create petrol from air and water. 25 Scientists have found a way to change the colour of the world’s most iconic precious metal – gold. 31 Scientists at Cornell University, USA unveil an autonomous flying robot that is as smart as a bird. November:

6 European space agency scientists have developed an aircraft grade alloy. It is twice as light as the conventional nickel super alloys. The Borlaug Award 2012 goes to K.V. Prabhu and Ashok Singh, scientists at the Indian Agriculture Research 22 Institute.

23 The Infosys Science Foundation announces the winners of the fourth Infosys Prize for research, across six categories, including Humanities for the first time. December: 11 Stephen Hawking wins a $3 million Special Fundamental Physics Prize for a lifetime of achievements, the most lucrative science prize ever established. 12 North Korea launches a three-stage weather forecast rocket from its Sohae Space Centre. 14 NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory ends mission with a well-orchestrated crash on Moon. 26 China launches services on the world’s longest high-speed rail route.

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ECONOMY Dipika Sahoo (ddd123) The year 2012 was immersed in global meltdown with high rates of unemployment and recession all over the globe. The series of economy decline started with UK. The rate of unemployment elevated to 8.4%, highest since 1996 affecting around 2.69 million denizens. In Scotland, the rate rose to 8.6% while in Wales it was recorded at 8.9%.But the impact was severe in the Euro Zone when the rate hit an all-time high of 10.7% in January. More than 24.3 million people were out of their workplace .Out of the 27 nations in euro Zone, Spain grabbed the top position with an abysmal record of 23.3%, with Greece at second position. Shifting the lens towards Asian countries, it was found that China had the largest trade deficit of $31.5 billion after imports rose 39.6% while exports rose only 18% due to global economic meltdown like the persisting problem of unemployment in US and other European countries. It also affected the imports of metals copper and iron. Another important move taken by China was loosening currency controls on the Yuan. The step was welcomed by US as it believed that it would facilitate the trade and will have positive impact worldwide. Next came the news of China signing trade deals with Russia worth $15 billion. They signed around 27 contracts in various fields of investment like research institutes, nuclear resources, natural gas, crude oil etc. It was done in an effort to deepen their links in trade and investment. Euro zone also managed to avoid recession narrowly by recording zero growth figures in the first three months of the year. Figures suggested that the credit be given to Germany for 0.5% growth which was mainly because of rise in exports and higher domestic consumption. But the worst was not over. The creditworthiness of Spain was downgraded to BBB from A by Fitch. The reasons quoted were recession forecast in 2013, high cost for recapitalisation of banks. The outlook on Spain’s sovereign ratings remained negative, making a grim situation. It was followed by downgrading of five Dutch banks by Moody. The long term debt and deposit ratings were notched down in Rabobank Nederland, ING Bank N.V., ABN AMRO, Leases Plan Corporation and SNS Bank. The average asset-weighted deposit rating for Dutch banks is between A1 and A2 (closer to A1). The average asset-weighted standalone credit assessments are between a3 and baa1. Both the ratings are higher among their European peers. Adding to the woes, Italy which was rated B+ previously, touched the abysmal point of CCC+ after being rated by ratings agency, Egan- Jones. In spite of such poor ratings Italy’s troubles were less severe as compared to its peers since its budget was a balanced one. For instance, the unemployment rate in Italy was 10% while that of Spain was 25%. On the other hand, US were sternly warned by Moody’s Investor Services that its ratings would be downgraded if the nation’s debts were not dealt with. Fitch’s ratings were maintained after it confirmed an increase in debt ceiling. But Moody held its negative perspectives. The tremor could also be felt in the country when India’s IIP (Index of Industrial Production) slowed to 0.1%. Consumer durables production recorded decline in growth rate as opposed to the previous year. Growth rates of other sectors like power generation, mining basic goods production also dipped. According to CMIE, the industrial output was expected to grow by 5.1 % in FY13. The growth in electrical sector was expected to grow by 11.9%. Growth of nuclear sector and production of coal was expected at 17.1 % and 6.8% respectively. The eight core industries grew at only 2.1%. On top of that, natural gas and crude oil production growth was retarded in August. Moving to the national front, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council quoted that India’s exports would be unable to meet its target of $360 billion. Weak demand from overseas and higher cost of raw materials was the main reason for such incidents. India’s export slumped by 9.7 %.

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India, in the mean-time, decided to reduce number of items in Sensitive List for SAARC countries in an attempt to do away with duty impediments and to boost trade. Under SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade agreement), India’s imports are classified under MFN list and Sensitive list. Out of the approved SEZs, 158 are operational while 386 are notified. Most of the exports were dominant in the service sector but according to the experts, government should give emphasis on manufacturing industry also. In an attempt to give a boost to the textile industry which has a turnover of more than $80 billion , India signed a pact with Israel so as to expand business in cotton, silk and other handloom industries. It would also facilitate bilateral trade and economic relations after 20 long years of diplomatic relations. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slipped to a nine year low of 6.5% according to RBI Annual Report. The drop was led by metal and infrastructure sector; in addition, decline in investment in telecom sector, large projects as well. It was followed by the discussion of 12th five Year Plan. The average annual growth target was scaled down to 8.2% from 9%.It also stressed on increasing the benefits to SC/STs, OBCs and minorities. Central government also permitted 51% FDI in multi brand retail. Retailers would be allowed to open up their stores where the minimum population is 10 lakh along with minimum amount of $100million. Global giants like Wal-Mart, Tesco would get a chance to open their stores in India. Central government also allowed FDI investment in aviation sector. It would give a boost to the sector since Indian carriers are facing losses due to high taxes in fuel, poor infrastructure and so on. It was decided to allow foreign investment up to 74% in broadcast sector and up to 49% in power trading exchanges which would pave way for robust price, price risk management in the power sector. Central government further decided to sell off its stake in PSUs like Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation, NALCO, OIL and Hindustan Copper Limited. Government managed to raise only 14,000 crore rupees against target of 40,000 crore rupees. Government also issued guidelines in a bid to improve the agriculture sector of the country. The target of 4% in agricultural growth was kept for 12th year plan by allocating a grant of Rs.9217 crores. PPPIAD framework was launched under the flagship programme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. Centre also approved to restructure debt amounting to 1.9 lakh crores rupees of State Electricity Boards. India’s exports of coffee declined by 7%. India, the sixth largest coffee exporter, reported a decline in earnings from $ 927.6 million to $839.69 million. In addition to that, IMF has lowered India’s economic growth forecast by 1% for FY2012-13. The main reasons cited were deterioration in the business sentiment and rupee depreciation. The report was released In IMF- World Bank 2012 Annual meeting. Another unpleasant news in the Indian Corporate sector was that there was a decline in Mergers & Acquisitions activity during the quarter July –September2012. The largest deal was valued at $200 million by Orchid Chemical and Pharmaceuticals. But US continued to be the most favoured destination. As far as Euro zone was considered, according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), the Euro Zone economy was slowing down but improvement was likely in China and the scenario in US and Japan was moderate. Towards the end the year, it was announced that ICE would purchase the New York Stock Exchange in a deal of $8.2 billion. It would give control of the commodities exchange. So we saw that overall global sentiments were quite grave. Hope that 2013 turns out well.

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POLITICS Dipika Sahoo (ddd123) The year 2012 stands as testimony to various political issues around the world. Even the Indian political scenario witnessed various changes throughout the year. The changes of political heads in different parts of the world were accompanied by different struggles and new histories. The year kick started with the election of the President of the world’s most populous country, China. Ma Ying Jeou was re elected as the president of Republic of China with 51% of the vote on 14th January. Next month, February 6th marked the 60th anniversary of British monarchy of Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the only 2nd to do so. In another European country, Germany, Christian Wulff, the president, resigned over a corruption scandal, which involved alleged political favours and financial impropriety. It was seen as a blow to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel who supported his candidature as President. His counterpart in Turkmenistan, Gurbangly Berdimedow, was re-elected as the president with 97% of the vote on 14th February. In Yemen, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a former general was the only candidate in the Presidential election. The month of March saw the rise of a new political era in five Indian states when Samajwadi Party won elections in UP, BJP in Goa, INC in Manipur and Uttarakhand and Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. Akhilesh Yadav took over as the CM of UP, Prakash Singh Badal in Punjab, Okram Ibobi Singh in Manipur, Vijay Bahuguna in Uttarakhand and Manohar Panikar in Goa. On 18th of March, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi stepped down as the railway minister over the rail fare hike fiasco after pressure from TMC. Moving to the international arena, Russia elected its President, Vladimir Putin amid various allegations of voter fraud. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008, and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Similarly, Macky Sall, the former Senegalese PM was elected as the President since April 2012 after being removed from his post as President of National Assembly in November 2008. Francois Hollande became the first President of France to be elected without prior experience as Minister or Junior Minister (since Paul Deschanel in 1920). He was elected as the President defeating Nicholas Sarkozy. In June, Mohamed Morsi won Egypt’s Presidential election winning 51.7% of the vote defeating Ahmed Shafik.In India, on 12th July, Jagadish Shettar is sworn in as the new CM of Karnataka. He was Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly during 2008-09.A BJP leader, he replaced Sadananda Gowda. One of the biggest political events in Indian democracy took place when Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th president of the country on 22nd July .He defeated the NDA candidate, PA Sangma by a large margin. In the same month, John Dramani Mahama succeeded John Atta mills as the new President of Ghana; while Ivica Dacic took over as the Prime Minister of Serbia. On 4TH September, Pauline Marois became the first female premier of Quebec. She revealed her plans to bring various reforms in the country like abolition of high tuition fees, reduction in electricity bills. In India, Hamid Ansari was re-elected as the vice president of the country. He became the second vice president to get a second consecutive term of a vice president after Dr.Sarvapally Radhakrishnan. The former IFS officer and vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University defeated the NDA candidate, Jaswant Singh. This year also saw the demise of Vilasrao Deshmukh the Union Minister of Science and Technology .He was former Maharashtra chief minister and began his career as sarpanch in Latur district. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was re-elected to a fourth term defeating his opponent Henrique Capriles. He got 54.42 of the votes against 44.97 votes for his opponent. Page 20 of 27

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On 4th October, King Abdullah of Jordan dissolved the parliament. This has paved the way for new elections the next year. It was done on the eve of Amman Friday in anticipation of protests. On 8th of October, Mustafa, the first Libyan prime minister was voted out by Libyan Parliament, General National Congress. Around 125 members did not express confidence in the list .The parliament would choose a new premier for the country. Back in the home country, India, the founder of Shiv Sena Party, Shri Bal Thackeray died as a result of cardiac arrest. The politician from Maharashtra was an anti-communist. On 18th November, election of the US president took place. Obama got re-elected as the President after facing a stiff competition from Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. He is the 1st black to occupy the White House. On 24th November, Ernest Bai Koroma was re-elected as president of Sierra Leone. Enriques Pene Nieota was sworn in as President of México. It opened to a new age of transition. It was claimed that the leftist candidate who secured the second position in the elections had adopted the fraudulent ways of vote buying. Barut Pahor became the new president in Slovenia. On 19th December, Park Guen Hye won the South Korean Presidential elections, becoming the nation’s 1st female president. She became the 11th President of the country. She is the chairwoman of the Grand National Party and is considered to be one of the most influential politicians of South Korea. The year concluded with the national front, polling took place in the Indian state of Gujarat. Narendra Modi successfully managed to retain the post of Chief Minister for a third term. The BJP leader defeated the congress by winning the majority of 115 seats in the state assembly out of 182 seats. Hence we saw that the turnout of the political events ranged from countries like India, US, Russia to Jordan and Mexico. Politics is all about winning and losing the elections with the aim of providing good governance to the country and taking progressive steps for the upliftment of the general public. Then only people can put their trust and belief in their leaders.

BANKING Vinay Tej (vinaytej) On February 2012 the Central Bank of India launched “Cent VayuShakti” to provide banking facilities to serving and retired Air Force personnel across the country. Corporation bank completed its 107 years of existence on March 12, 2012. On 16th April 2012 the U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim was announced as the new President of the World Bank. His main contender was the Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. World Bank conference on land and poverty is held between April 23-26, 2012 at Washington DC under the theme of “Land governance in a rapidly changing environment”. On 18th June 2012 Bank of India opened a fully owned subsidiary in Uganda known as Bank of India (Uganda) Ltd. The LIBOR (London interbank offered rate) scandal arised because of the banks misinterpreting (inflating or deflating) their rates so as to obtain profits and in June 2012 investigation on the Barclays bank revealed the scandal. On July 2nd 2012 State Bank of Patiala launched “SwarnShakti” for farmers against the security of gold ornaments to provide free loans instead of land.

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On 27th July 2012, SBI became the first bank to install an ATM at DRASS in Jammu & Kashmir Kargil region. On 6thAugust 2012, the New York Department of Financial Services accused Standard Chartered of hiding $250 billion in transactions involving Iran, labeling it a "rogue institution". Sa-Dhan (The Association of community development finance institutions) in collaboration with “The Federation of Indian chambers of Commerce & Industry” (FICCI) has organized the financial inclusion conference on 7th and 8th of August 2012 in New Delhi under the theme “The first mile walk into the financial system” to discuss upon the contemporary issues and concerns of the banking sector. The Federal Bank has opened its 1000th branch at Muthoor, Thiruvalla in Kerala on 17th August 2012 and became the first bank from Kerala to cross the milestone of 1000 branch network. It was also the principal sponsor of Tuskers Kerala. ICICI Bank has rolled-out a scheme named “MySavings Rewards” from 1st September 2012, where reward points are offered to individual domestic customers for a variety of transactions done through the savings bank account. On October 1st 2012 Kaushik Basu was appointed as the Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank. Before he was the Chief Economic Adviser of Government of India. Now Raghuram Rajan is his successor. The IMF and World Bank group annual meeting for 2012 started on October 9-14 in Tokyo to discuss the work of their respective institutions. On 15th October, India’s largest private sector bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa based ECO bank Transnational to enable each other expand their services. ECO bank is present in 35 countries in Africa. On November 9, 2012 Indian activist and politician Arvind Kejriwal claimed he had details of 700 Indian bank accounts hiding black money with a total value of 6,000 crore with HSBC in Geneva. HDFC bank became the first largest bank in India by Market Capitalization on November1. In November 2012, HSBC, U.K. banking major has been charged $1.9 billion to settle money laundering case for allegedly involving in transfer of funds through U.S. financial system to Mexican drug cartels and nations like Iran. The bank is accused of violating the “Bank Secrecy Act & Trading with Enemy Act”. The Non-Performing Assets (NPA’s) or Bad loans of the banking sector rose from 0.97% to 1.28% in financial year 2011-12 according to a newly published RBI report. Scotia Bank acquired ING Direct Canada (part of ING Group) for $3.13 billion and completed the merger on November 15th. The RBI on 16th November 2012 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the “State Bank of Vietnam” for promoting greater co-operation and sharing supervisory information between them. Kerala’s Ernakulam district was the first district to achieve 100% banking in the country on November 22. Also Kerala is the 1st state in the country to achieve 100% financial inclusion (i.e.) atleast one member in every house hold has a bank account. Banking Technology Awards has awarded HSBC bank as the “Best Green IT Initiative by a financial institution” for the year 2012. The RBI on 4th December 2012 signed a 3 year Bilateral Swap Agreement (BSA) with the Bank of Japan for swapping of the local currencies to address short term liquidity problems. Page 22 of 27

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On 17 December 2012, International Financing Review ("IFR"), Thomson Reuters' leading financial industry publication, has named BNP Paribas its "2012 BANK OF THE YEAR". The IFR awards are a key industry benchmark of global excellence and Bank of the Year is the top honour awarded. On December 17, 2012 The International Financing Review (IFR) recognized Deutsche Bank as its Equity House of the Year and Bond House of the Year for 2012. Indian-American Vikram Pandit stepped down from the role of CEO of Citigroup. Michael Corbat is his successor. HDFC bank tied up with Indian Oil to establish “Kisan Seva Kendra’s (KSK’s) at some of the the petrol pump outlets to provide banking services in rural areas. Axis Bank became the first Indian bank to offer to all bank’s customers an option to buy “e-gift card”. The customer can buy and send a card of his/her choice by either mailing it or sending it (via) SMS to their loved ones. SBI has been ranked 285th in the Fortune Global 500 rankings of the world’s biggest corporations for the year 2012. Australia and New Zealand Banking group (ANZ),the largest bank in New Zealand formerly known as ANZ National bank limited changed to ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited in 2012 upon merging ANZ and National Bank brands. In 2012, The Royal Bank of Scotland released a £10 note to commemorate the “Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II”. SBI is the only bank in top 17 BRIC banks claiming 14th place in the list. Top 3 Banks in India in terms of Market Turnover 1) State Bank Of India. 2) ICICI Bank Ltd. 3) Punjab National Bank. Top 3 Private Banks in India in terms of Market Turnover 1) ICICI Bank Ltd. 2) HDFC Bank Ltd. 3) Axis Bank Ltd. Top 3 Indian Banks with highest number of ATM’s across India

Name of Bank On-site Off-Site Total State Bank of India 12327 10142 22469 Axis Bank Ltd. 2096 8241 10337 HDFC Bank Ltd. 3905 5804 9709

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Top 3 Banks in the World by Asset Value Rank Bank Country Total Assets ($m) 1 Deutsche Bank Germany 2,799,977 2 HSBC United Kingdom 2,555,579 3 BNP Paribas France 2,542,738

Corporate Anirban Kundu (Anirban9) January ONGC Board approved Interim Dividend of Rs.6.25 per share of Rs.5 each for 2011-12. State-run Northern Coalfields to surrender land to Reliance Power for Mining Purpose. Coca Cola placed at No.1 in Interbrand's List of the top 100 Global Brands in 2011. Photography Pioneer Eastman Kodak Company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. CCEA gave Final Approval to Vedanta's Acquisition of Majority Stake in Cairn India. Private Life Insurance Company HDFC Life from India launched its First International Operations February Baharain Telecom announced exit from Indian joint venture S Tel. Thomas Cook announced to sell Indian subsidiary Thomas Cook India Limited. Reliance Communications Received RBI Approval for FCCB Redemption. Reliance Industries Limited Wrote to DoT Seeking Extention of Broadband Spectrum Tenure. Union Government filed Review Petition in Supreme Court in the Vodafone Tax Case. Competition Commission of India approved the Merger of Reliance Infratel and Netizen Rajasthan. Dunlop India Limited closed down its Operation at Ambattur Factory. Abudhabi Based Etisalat announced to close down its India Operation. National Australia Bank opened its Maiden Branch in India. Etisalat commenced Legal Proceeding Against the Promoters of Swan Telecom. Rahul Bhatia awarded with Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award 2011. TDSAT directed the Union Government to issue Broadband License to Qualcomm. US Banking Major Citi Group sold Stake in HDFC for 1.9 Billion Dollars. Telenor, Unitech moved to Company Law Board to protect Interest in Uninor. March Company Law Board returned the Petitions of Telenor and Unitech. Supreme Court Bench recused from taking up PIL in Cairn-Vedanta Deal. Uninor and Sistema Shyam filed Review Petition in Supreme Court's 2G Verdict. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd resumed Oil Supplies to Kingfisher Airlines. CEAT appointed Anant Goenka as its New Managing Director. News Corp sold its stake in Hathway Cable & Datacom for 358 crore Rupees. Tata Steel topped the List of Most Admired Indian Brand. Tata Motors hiked Prices of Passenger Vehicles by up to 35000 rupees. Supreme Court of India dismissed Union Government’s Petition in Vodafone Tax Case. Skoda Auto India increased the Price of All Cars by 2.2 to 5.1 Per Cent.

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State Bank of India hiked Interest Rates on Retail Term Deposits to 8 Per Cent. Air India Board approved the Direct Import of Jet Fuel. NTPC Board approved 17000 Crore Rupees Investment in Two Power Projects in Maharashtra. Unitech approached Court against Estranged Joint Venture Partner Telenor. April Star TV won the Broadcasting Rights of Indian Cricket Team in a 3851 Crore Rupees Bid. Cyrus Mistry and OP Bhatt joined the Board of Directors of Tata Consultancy Services. BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) won British Safety Award. Star Group ended its Joint Venture with Indian Television. Zee TV became the First Indian Channel to get Landing Right in China. Audi signs up Indian Motorsport Driver Aditya Patel for Three Years. IDBI Bank slashed its Deposit and Lending Rates. Trafigura picked up 24 Percent Equity in Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd. ICICI Bank slashed Lending and Deposit Rates by 25 Basis Points. Punjab National Bank slashed Lending Rates by 25 Basis Points. Vodafone acquired Cable & Wireless Worldwide in a 1 Billion Pound Deal. May Audi launched New Version of Its Largest Selling sedan A4 in India. UTI Mutual Fund's Chief Marketing Officer Jaideep Bhattacharya resigned. Qualcomm received the Broadband Wireless Access Spectrum. Samsung became Number One Mobile Company in the World. Airtel introduced Smartbytes Additional Data Usage Packs for Post-paid Mobile Customers on 3G. Bharti Airtel acquired 49 Per Cent Stake in Qualcomm’s Broadband Wireless Access Business. Cyrus Mistry and Mallika Srinivasan appointed on the Board of Tata Steel. Chinese Computer Major Lenovo appointed Ranbir Kapoor as its Brand Ambassador. June Walt Disney banned Junk Food Advertisements on Kid’s Programmes. Som Mittal remained as Nasscom President till early 2014. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison bought Hawaii's Sixth-Largest Island Lanai. Airtel Rising Star Talent Hunt Launched by Aitel and Manachester United. Harsha Viji appointed as new MD of Sundaram Mutual. Lessors occupied 34 aircraft of Vijay Mallay’s Kingfisher Airlines. Sheryl Sandberg First Female and Eighth Member on Facebook‘s Board. Coca-Cola announced to invest 28000 crore rupees by 2020 in India. FaceBook Changed the Domain Address by @facebook.com. FINO Acquired Pre-Paid Mobile Payment of Nokia. IRDA Fined 1.47 crore rupees on HDFC Life Insurance. July Brazil Court Ordered BASF and Shell to compensate 382 million dollars. European Aerospace Airbus Build its 1st US Assembly Plant in Alabama. Apple paid 60 million dollar to Shenzhen Proview Technology to Settle Legal Dispute. Serum Institute of India bought Bilthoven Biologicals for 550 crore rupees. Tata Group firm Roots Corporation Ltd. planned 5 more Ginger Hotels. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan signed as Brand Ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers. Page 25 of 27

Round Up of the Year Contest

Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma was signed as the Brand Ambassador of Unicharm’s Sofy. ONGC was awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012. Famous Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was signed as the Brand Ambassador of BMW. August NDTV filed Lawsuit against Audience Measurement Company TAM India. SBI reduced Interest Rate on Home and Car Loans by Up to 0.5 Percent. Hero MotoCorp invested 20 million dollar in US based Erik Buell for R&D. Court restrained sale of Videocon’s Pebble washing machine on Whirlpool appeal. Micro Technologies India introduced Micro Call Blocker for unsolicited Calls & SMS. Siemens India Bagged 290 Million Euro NMDC Deal. KNR Constructions bagged the Tollway Road Project. Relaxo Footwear signed Bollywood Actor Katrina Kaif as its Brand Ambassador. Apple won Patent Infringement Case against Samsung. HSBC sold its Entire Stake in Federal Bank for 341 Crore Rupees. McNally Bharat won 122 crore Rupees Contract from SAIL. September Supreme Court directed Sahara Group to refund 17400 Crore Rupees to their Investors. Industry Leader Deepak Parekh Nominated to Competition Commission of India. Tech Mahindra Acquired Hutchinson Global Services. ICICI Bank to extend its net banking services through social media platform ‘Facebook’. Infosys acquired Switzerland based firm Lodestone. Welspun finds the lenders for its 50 MW solar Project in Rajasthan. State-owned Bank of India opened its first branch in South Africa. HDFC Bank Commissioned its 10001st ATM at Kovalam. Indigo Airlines emerged to be the top ranked carrier for consecutive second month. Ex-COO and MD of Reebok India held for Rs 870 Crore Fraud. Naveen Jindal, placed at the top in Executives Pay Chart. October Kingfisher Airlines was asked to stop booking the tickets by DGCA. Air India Received its Third Boeing 787 Dreamliner. GVK Power Secured Green Nod for Port Development in Australia. Toyota Motor Corporation recalled 7.4 million on- road vehicles for rectification. Tata Starbucks Opened its First Store in India. DGCA suspended the license of Kingfisher Airlines. Bharti Airtel Became World’s Fourth Largest Mobile Operator. Rescue Package of €7 Billion to the Struggling Car Firm Peugeot Citrogen. Indira Gandhi International Airport got International Certification. World Space Radio Re launched and Brought BacK on Airtel Digital TV. BHEL deployed Solar Panel on GSAT 10 Satellite. November Gov. of Odisha fined 6000 crore on Tata Steel for Illegal Mining. Karishma Kapoor appointed Brand Ambassador of McCain Food. Himalaya Drug Company won its Trademark Battle against Homeopathic Pharma SBL Limited. Volvo Group to Invest Two Thousand Crore Rupees in India. Page 26 of 27

Round Up of the Year Contest

Goldman Named 16 Indians as MDs and 3 as Partners. Airtel Completed Largest Network Transformation in Africa. Disa Holdings, a part of Disa A/S Group to sell its Shares in Indian Arm. Maldivian Airlines Signed Pact with Apollo Hospital. Sahara Moved to SAT to Seek More Time for Document Submission. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories launched Sildenafil Tablets in the U.S. Market. PepsiCo Coughed Up Double Amount than DLF to Be Next 5 Years IPL Sponsor. Rating Agency Fitch downgraded the Debt Rating of Sony Corporation and Panasonic Corporation. Maldives cancelled its Biggest Foreign Investment Project with GMR Group. Portman Holdings Invested 65 Crore Rupees in Tata Housing Project. TATA Motors Entered Bangladesh Passenger Car Market Segment. AstraZeneca’s petition plea on cancer drug dismissed by IPAB. December Infosys Decided Shifting Its American Shares From Nasdaq to NYSE. Nokia Agreed Selling Headquarter Building for 222 Million US Dollar. Suresh Vaswani, the Former Co-CEO of Wipro Appointed As the Dell Services President. Lobby Bill of Wal-Mart Hit Around 125 Crore Rupees to Seek Entry into India. Levi Strauss & Co Appointed Harmit Singh as the New Chief Financial Officer. IndiGo lost 88 Crore Rupees in FY 2011-2012: Aviation Ministry. KG-D6, Gas Producing Fields Reached Lowest Gas Output Level Since Inception. Tata Steel Developed a New Kind of Anti-Ballistic Steel Super Bainite. Google Launched Dead Sea Scrolls Online Library in Partnership with Israel Antiquities Authority. Samsung Defeated Nokia to become the world’s leading top mobile brand for the year 2012. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry Appointed as Chairman of Tata Sons. Board Members of Tata Sons conferred the Title of Chairman Emeritus on Ratan Tata. DLF Sold Luxury Hotel Chain Aman Resorts for 300 Million Dollar. Japanese Multinational Bought Marginal Stake in Guardian Lifecare. JLR Chinese Subsidiary Decided to Recall Cars for Fixing Steering Boxes and Brakes. Instagram Faced First Class Action Lawsuit over Its Terms of Service. China named Infosys in Key Service outsourcing Company list.

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